It has become a convention to address such a gathering as
"Brothers and Sisters" though no speaker is prepared to live up to
the ideal that such a form of address implies. Many such empty
formalities have entered into daily conduct. For example, it was
mentioned now, that today is a 'red letter day' in the history of
Thirupathi. Red letter days or days which have to be recorded in
letters of gold are becoming quite cheap nowadays. Only four days,
remember, deserve hat honour: the day on which Bhakthas (devotees)
gather to sing the glory of God: the day when the hungry are fed;
the day when one meets a great sage; and the day on which Viveka
dawns on the individual. This day certainly falls in the category
and so the secretary's description is, for once, right.

I like the work on which this committee is engaged in; and so,
I hurried to this place from Bangalore, where yesterday there was
an Akhanda bhajana (uninterrupted singing of devotional songs) by
many devotees. I like saint Thyaagaraaja. My affection for him is
not a matter of today. It is centuries old. And Thyaagaraaja and
Thirupathi are also attached to each other. He prayed here that
the screen hiding the light that was inside him might be moved
aside by the Lord's grace. This committee has been trying
heroically to erect a place of worship for the saint and a hall to
celebrate the Thyaagaraaja festival; and to encourage the study
and practise of his songs. I was sorry when I heard their report
and listened to the journeys these people have made to distant
places and the driblets of donations they have received so far.

The means for collecting Donations must be pure

Though the report is evidence of their devotion and sacrifice,
it reveals the false sense of values which people are developing
nowadays. 'Dabbu' (money) must also circulate like 'blooddu'
(blood)! Otherwise, that too will cause ill-health. There is no
better method of using 'dabbu' than for promoting Bhakthi, for
then the entire system, individual and social, will benefit by it.
If money is stored and not circulated, it will cause social
swellings and the swellings may become boils and burst.

I learn that the secretaries in their despair have thought of
running a lottery for completing this structure. I am very much
against this plan. A lottery attracts money from persons who are
moved by greed; it holds out the attraction of quick riches and
tempts men from a wrong angle. It will be tainted money to sell
lottery tickets and distribute prizes and use the balance. Though
it is for a good purpose, the means must be pure. Every one who
gives even a Paisa must give it out of real devotion and knowing
that the Paisa will be used for the building which he wants to get
built. Do not receive money given half-heartedly or with some
other motive than devotion. Then only will the building be worthy
of Thyaagaraaja, who spurned the Nidhi (wealth) offered by the
Raajas of Tanjore and preferred the 'Sannidhi' (proximity) of the
Lord to the favours bestowed by human donors.

It is when diseases are rampant that doctors are needed more;
and now, when the standard of moral conduct has fallen very much,
people must turn to doctors like Thyaagaraaja who dispense the
drug of Raamanaama in their own sweet palatable versions. All have
equal right to share in the health-giving properties of that drug.
In every linguistic group we have great Vaidhyas (doctors) who
treat this Bhavaroga (disease of worldly existence) successfully:
Suurdhas in Hindhi, Raamalingaswaamy in Thamil, and
Purandharadhaasa in Kannada - to give just one example in each
language.

Thyaagaraaja's songs impart Aanandha

Thyaagaraaja is in a class by himself, not because he sang in
Thelugu, but because his songs are marked by the rear excellence
of sincerity of devotion, poetical beauty and musical melody. The
Raaga (tune) suited to the emotional tempo of the idea elucidated
in the song; the Thaala (marking of time) quite appropriate to the
movement of the meaning; the words which automatically dictate the
Thaala and guide the musician along the notes and the entire
structure of the song helping the arousal of the Yogic urge in the
singer - such spontaneous mastery of the science and art of both
music and Saadhana is seldom found in the history of any language
or country. He sang unaware, out of the fullness of his
realisation, and so the songs have that strange communicative
force imparting Aanandha to the singer as well as the listener.

Devaki gave birth to Krishna but the child was brought up by
Yashodha in Brindhaavana. Yashodha had all the delight which the
child could give. So too, the Thamil devotees of music have
adopted Thyaagaraaja and have practised his songs more than the
Thelugu speaking people. They are the Yashodha of Thyaagaraaja.
The Thamils specialise in Raaga and Thaala and they sing with
scrupulous adherence to these. However, since they do not grasp
the full meaning of the text, distortions painful to the Thelugu
ear often occur. More and more Thelugu devotees have to learn to
sing Thyaagaraaja Krithis so that the nuances of the Thelugu
language in the songs may not be missed. After all, the Raaga,
Thaala and the notations are to help in the more easy assimilation
of the message contained in the song and in the transmission to
the singer and the listener of the live emotion out of which the
song arose in the first instance. This can happen only if the
meaning is clear.

Bhakthi is the Reservoir for all the Temples

Music as a vehicle of peace is universally popular; men, women
and children of all lands are amenable to its subtle influence.
Even animals and plants are susceptible to music. The Lord has
said: Madbhakthaah yathra gaayanthe, thathra thishthaami, Naaradha
- "Where My devotees sing, there I seat Myself." So, the songs of
Thyaagaraaja sung well and with the full realisation of the
context and the meaning are excellent media for the spread of
Bhakthi. That is why I came today, to encourage and bless this
Committee which is celebrating Thyaagaraaja Uthsavam (festival).
Three things combined to bring Me here: Iccha, Shraddha and
Anukoolam - their yearning, faith and conjunction of convenience!

The Thirumalai Thirupathi Devasthaanam must foster the
nurseries of Bhakthi wherever they are found. For, it is through
Bhakthi that pilgrims flock to the hill and pray before
Venkateshwara; if the springs of Bhakthi dry up, with what are the
minds of men to be watered? That is the reservoir for all the
temples of this land. So, the Devasthaanam can well come to the
rescue of this committee. It is doing the work of the
Devasthaanam, by promoting the Krithis (musical compositions) of
Thyaagaraaja, which develop the spirit of devotion. He was
Vaalmeeki himself come to the south of India to sing the glory of
Raama and spread the Raama thaaraka manthra. He had always the
welfare of the individual as well as the world in view. He had the
experience of the constant presence of the Lord, so that Raama had
to give him Dharshan (audience) and come to his help a number of
times. His Bhakthi made him ever at peace and joyful.

India is on the Threshold of a new Era

Prayer and contrition are the two disciplines by which the mind
can be cleansed of egoism and hatred; Thyaagaraaja is a fine
example of how this can be done. He was ever engaged in the
process of examining his words and deeds and evaluating them on
the touchstone of Bhakthi. As the bee in search of honey wanders
in search of the flowers, as the creeper clings fast and fondly to
the tree lest it fall, as the rill runs to the river and the river
rushes to the sea, Thyaagaraaja pined for Raama; his songs are
pure fragrant blossoms of Bhakthi and therefore, immortal.

Every man seeks rest, but the dust of sense-craving accumulates
on the mind, producing rust and threatening to 'burst' it; so he
has to test it, off and on, keep it in perfect trim. To remove
that rust, the music of Thyaagaraaja's Krithis will be useful. Lay
aside your cynicism for a while and listen to the captivating
tunes and imbibe the sense. The science of spiritual culture and
of the control of the mind has been developed and practised in
this country for thousands of years; and that is why Indian
civilisation has stood the shock of ages and the fury or typhoons
that swept whole peoples off their feet. India is still green and
fresh, on the threshold of a new era, under the leadership of her
own ancient ideals.

The tastes for good music has also gone nowadays with the
coming of catchy lilts and croonings from the cinemas and the
craze has spread for imitating them even in Bhajanas! Sing the
Krithis of Thyaagaraaja in the classical Raagas and I am sure they
will have great appeal. They are not mere Paatalu (songs), they
are Mootalu (bundles) of precious stones; they take you along the
Baatalu (roads) to God. If Thyaagaraaja gets neglected, this holy
hill will lose height, for the hill stands so high because it
rests on the pedestal of Bhakthi. Neglect of Thyaagaraaja can
happen only when the people of this land become desperately
worldly, deaf to the whisper of the God within.